Case Reports That Illustrate the Efficacy of SGLT2 Inhibitors in the Type 1 Diabetic Patient

Abstract

SGLT2 inhibitors are only approved for use in adults with type 2 diabetes. However, because SGLT2 inhibitors have a mechanism of action that does not require the presence of endogenous insulin, these drugs should also be efficacious in type 1 diabetes where endogenous insulin production is greatly reduced or absent. Herein, I present five cases which illustrate the benefits of utilizing an SGLT2 inhibitor with type 1 diabetes. In these cases the use of SGLT2 inhibitors resulted not only in better glycemic control in most patients but also in some patients’ less hypoglycemia, weight loss, and decreased doses of insulin. In type 1 diabetes Candida albicans vaginitis and balanitis may occur more frequently than in type 2 diabetes. These cases show that a large randomized clinical trial of SGLT2 inhibitors in type 1 diabetes needs to be performed.